Cold and flu season can have you feeling run down. But life doesn’t stop! You still have work, school, and a million other responsibilities that can’t be avoided. We get it. Being under the weather sucks. What do you do when you strongly suspect Sharon from one-desk-over doesn’t just have allergies?
Living by these 5 easy tips will help you stay healthy and avoid those sick days, even if Sharon refuses to keep her germs to herself.
Wash Hands Thoroughly
It’s the end-all-be-all of avoiding cold and flu season. It may seem like a basic habit, but are you washing correctly? No more of this “rinse and run” behavior allowed! The FDA advises you should “wash hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds.” Take extra time to scrub in between your fingers, up your arms, and underneath your fingernails. You never know where those bad nasties might be hiding.
Use Hand Sanitizer
Ideally, we’d all wash our hands all the time, but this isn’t always possible, especially when the restaurant bathroom line is long and every single soap dispenser is somehow out. In those scenarios where soap and water aren’t available, the CDC suggests using “an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol to reduce the number of germs on your hands.”
Not to toot our own horn, but all our sanitizer is 63.5% alcohol. We’ve worked hard to create the perfect formula for eliminating 99.9% of germs. And because we make our sanitizers in our FDA-registered Utah facility, we have plenty in stock and we’re making more each and every day. From cap to bottle to ingredients: it’s all made here in the USA. 99.9% effective, 100% stocked.
Get back to basics and try our 1 oz. unscented sanitizers. They’re perfectly sized for keeping in your car, purse, desk drawer, or anywhere really. It’s a win-win-win-win.
Stay Hydrated
The FDA also recommends avoiding alcohol and caffeinated products when you’re sick. Now is the time to be avoiding those early morning coffees and late night beers (bummer, we know). Each of these products robs your system of fluids that may help you fight viruses and infections.
Drinking liquids like waters, juices, and herbal teas help replenish the fluids you lose when running a fever or fighting a cold. Try keeping a glass on your desk during the day and next to your bed at night.
Get Enough Sleep
It may seem an obvious solution, but getting adequate rest is essential for avoiding illness. While the necessity of sleep is still largely unknown, scientists do know that sleep is your body’s time to fight bugs, repair injuries, and regenerate energy. A factory update for your body, if you will.
It’s doubly important that you take the time for extra sleep when it’s “under-the-weather” season. Try heading to bed an hour early, avoiding screens for 1-2 hours before bed, and wearing your comfiest pajamas (not because it helps, but because who doesn’t love fuzzy pajamas?)
Keep Common Items Clean
Of course you wash your hands and of course you use sanitizer. But have you thought about sanitizing those things you touch all the time? Studies show that frequently-handled items like light switches, computer keyboards, and cell phones are the guilty culprits of germ transfer. Consider washing and disinfecting those items often to avoid illness. Don’t just wash yourself. Wash your stuff too.
All sanitizer packaging & product is made in the USA in an FDA-registered facility. Learn more at SnugZUSA.com or give us a call at (888) 447-6840.
Want more info about these tips? Check out our sources from the FDA, CDC, Wall Street Journal, and Sleep Advisor.